MEETING LANDO


Qi’ra is the one with all the connections, as she knows one of the best smugglers in the galaxy: Lando. She puts the two scoundrels together, where they trade friendly banter over a game of sabacc (“Is This Seat Taken?”) and Han learns about all the attributes of the Millennium Falcon. Obviously, Lando agrees to join their crew, introducing Han to his droid co-pilot, L3-37 (“L3 & Millennium Falcon”) before they embark on their journey. Meanwhile, Han and Qi’ra explore the ship and all it has to offer (“Lando’s Closet”).

What’s interesting here is that in the footage from the trailers, Lando and L3 are flying the Falcon to Kessel (where we believe the big job takes place), but Han bets for it during is first encounter with Lando. It’s possible Solo loses that hand in an instance of overconfidence before redeeming himself later on. There’s a track at the very end titled “Dice & Roll” that indicates another Falcon bet takes place at the end of the film, with Han using his lucky gold dice to emerge victorious.

KESSEL MISSION



In one of his famous social media set photos, Ron Howard confirmed Kessel is a planet we’ll visit in Solo. Based on the song “Mine Mission,” it would seem Dryden’s job involves taking something from Kessel. Since the world is known for its spice mines, it’s reasonable to assume Han and crew are trying to get some of the substance to Vos so he can send out a supply to interested parties. Knowing this clears some bits of footage up. We’ve seen Qi’ra (with L3 flanking her) dressed in a rather elaborate costume, so the gang could be in disguise as part of a plan. Han and Chewie are posing as prisoners in handcuffs, mirroring a sequence from A New Hope.

Star Wars canon has hammered home Kessel is where enslaved Wookiees were sent at the behest of the Empire, so odds are Chewie is going to encounter some of his kind there. There could be a side quest that isn’t part of the main mission. The song “Break Out” could imply some sort of rescue operation where Chewbacca frees more Wookiees (including his wife) and helps them get off-planet. Our theory is this is where “The Good Guy” comes in, as Han has aspirations of being a slick criminal, but has too big of a nice streak. Solo can separate right from wrong, and especially after getting closer with Chewie, he’d be inclined to save additional walking carpets.

THE MAW



As the main group makes a daring escape from Kessel (an on-ground firefight leads to a space chase), we get to the other key Solo set piece (aside from the Conveyex) that’s been a lynchpin of marketing. Whenever the Millennium Falcon has a meaningful role to play in a Star Wars movie, you can bet there’s a sequence where it flees from TIE fighters. Previous famous examples include the asteroid field chase, the skies of Jakku, and Crait’s salt mines. For Solo, Ron Howard is taking us “Into The Maw” for one of Han’s most dangerous rides yet.

It’s no secret Solo is drawing heavily from Legends, and the Maw is one of the many elements the film is cherrypicking. It has not appeared in “official” canon yet, but in the Expanded Universe, the Maw was a black hole cluster near Kessel that proved highly difficult to navigate. In the movie, the Maw not only has debris to make things perilous, there’s also a tentacle monster to deal with. Circling back to EU connections, the Kessel Run route was located around the Maw, and it was how Han’s claim of 12 parsecs was proven correct. It’ll be fascinating to see how the Maw is integrated into Solo, and if the Kessel Run is actually as impressive as we thought.

ENFYS NEST SHOWDOWN



One of the more recognizable bits of Solo imagery to emerge from the trailers is the Western-inspired face-off between Han and Enfys Nest. It looks like this scene takes place on the planet Savareen, which is located in the Outer Rim. Quite matter-of-factly, there’s a song titled “Savareen Stand-Off,” so whatever story thread that involves Enfys gets resolved here. Nest is one of the most secretive Star Wars characters ever (we don’t even know who played her), so it’s hard to pinpoint any more details beyond that. There are, of course, fan theories that attempt to figure it out.

Solo hasn’t been subject to nearly as much hypothesizing as Force Awakens or Last Jedi, but viewers are still speculating some plot twists. Arguably the most popular theory to gain traction is that Qi’ra is Enfys Nest in disguise, though there isn’t a whole lot of concrete evidence to support the claim. Still, Lucasfilm is keeping Enfys under wraps on purpose, which certainly makes it seem like she’s not just a second-rate villain who shows up for a couple of scenes. Something had to have happened to Han to make him a jaded cynic, and getting betrayed by a friend would definitely do that. But Solo will always have Chewbacca by his side, and the two go off together, looking for whatever work they can find.

It’s important to point out that this is entirely our conjecture going off of the soundtrack list and nothing more. Solo could possibly turn out different, but this sounds like a logical structure for the narrative to follow. Star Wars soundtrack albums essentially play chronologically, so the track names and order seem to reveal all. Fans should just be thankful there are no real plot spoilers among the titles, and the finer points are still preserved as surprises.

KEY RELEASE DATES
Solo: A Star Wars Story release date: May 25, 2018
Star Wars 9 / Star Wars: Episode IX release date: Dec 20, 2019